Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo will feature on the cover of the football game for the first time ever, stoking anticipation for the new release

The accolades continue to roll in for Cristiano Ronaldo; fresh off winning La Liga and the Champions League, the Real Madrid star is now the face of the best-selling sports video-game franchise on the planet.

EA Sports announced on June 5 that Ronaldo will grace the cover of FIFA 18, which will be released later this year.

It will pit him against Barcelona rival Lionel Messi in yet another category, as the Argentine has signed up to appear on the cover of Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer.

FIFA's popularity has soared in recent years, however, with its Ultimate Team game mode making it the dominant force when it comes to football games. With anticipation for the new release already high, here is our complete guide to what we know and what to expect.

WHEN WILL FIFA 18 BE RELEASED?

FIFA 18 will be released worldwide on Friday, September 29. There are two ways, however, to get your hands on the game early.

The first is to pre-order the 'Ronaldo Edition' or 'Icon Edition', priced at £79.99 ($79.99) and £89.99 ($99.99) respectively and packed with bonus Ultimate Team content. They will be available to play on Tuesday, September 26, which is in line with EA's knack for going live on a late Tuesday in September.

If that's not soon enough you'll need to sign up to EA Access (Xbox One) or Origin Access (PC), both of which cost either £3.99 ($4.99) a month or £19.99 ($29.99) a year. That will get you 10 hours of trial play time from Thursday, September 21.

If you're a PlayStation 4 player, the September 26 date is the earliest you will be able to play.

What about the web app?

EA Sports has announced that the new web app - which will allow players to begin building and managing Ultimate Team squads - will be launched on September 21, just over a week in advance of the game's worldwide release date.

While the new system is being prepared, the current web app and other web features associated with the game will be down for maintenance and thus unavailable.

HOW MUCH WILL FIFA 18 COST?

As mentioned, the special Ronaldo and Icon Editions cost £79.99 ($79.99) and £89.99 ($99.99) respectively. The standard version, meanwhile, will be priced at £54.99 ($59.99) - £5 more expensive than FIFA 17.

It's likely those prices will drop, though, as the game nears release and retailers compete for sales.

HOW CAN I GET FIFA 18 CHEAP?

If you're living in the UK and longing for all the Ultimate Team goodies in the Icon Edition but the price is a little too high for your liking, we can help.

In three easy - and entirely legitimate - steps, it's possible to bring the price of the premium, Ronaldo Nazario-fronted version of the game down from £89.99 to just over £70. That's cheaper than the Ronaldo Edition, which includes less bonus content.

WHAT IS IN EACH EDITION?

Per EA Sports, here's what you get in each different version of the game...

Icon Edition (£89.99)

Play from September 26 with three days of Early Access

Up to 40 FIFA Ultimate Team Jumbo Premium Gold Packs (two per week over 20 weeks)

One three-match FUT Team of the Week loan player for 20 weeks

Cristiano Ronaldo FUT loan player for five matches

Ronaldo Nazario FUT Icon loan player for five matches

Eight special edition FUT kits designed by FIFA soundtrack artists

Ronaldo Edition (£79.99)

Play from September 26 with three days of Early Access

Up to 20 FIFA Ultimate Team Jumbo Premium Gold Packs (one per week for 20 weeks)

Cristiano Ronaldo FUT loan player for five matches

Eight special edition FUT kits designed by FIFA soundtrack artists

Standard Edition (£54.99)

Up to five FIFA Ultimate Team Jumbo Premium Gold Packs (one per week for five weeks)

Cristiano Ronaldo FUT loan player for five matches

Eight special edition FUT kits designed by FIFA soundtrack artists

WHAT CONSOLES WILL IT BE RELEASED ON?

It's confirmed - FIFA 18 will be available to buy on Xbox 360 and PS3 as well as Xbox One, PS4, PC and the new Nintendo Switch.

There was some doubt as to whether EA would bother with the older consoles this year. That's because the new Frostbite engine is too powerful for them to run, resulting in watered down versions of the game missing some key features such as The Journey.

Once again, the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions will not match up to their PS4 and Xbox One counterparts and will not include The Journey, but they will, at least, exist.

WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH THE NINTENDO SWITCH?

The Nintendo Switch version of the game will not run on Frostbite either, which is a blow to FIFA fans who were hoping to finally be able to play the game at its full, comprehensive best on a Nintendo platform.

EA are insistent, however, that they have built a worthy title for the new console and have revealed that in place of Frostbite, the Switch edition has its own, custom-built engine.

A lack of Frostbite means a lack of The Journey, which is a significant omission, but the potential for Switch players to take Ultimate Team on the go and open packs wherever they can find an internet connection is intriguing.

WHEN CAN I PRE-ORDER FIFA 18?

You can pre-order FIFA 18 right now. It's available to buy through the official channels such as the PlayStation and Xbox stores - find the PS4, Xbox One and PC versions at these links - and also with a few of the major retailers, with more set to follow soon.

You can also snap up the 'legacy' versions for PS3 and Xbox 360 now for arrival on release day.

WHO WILL BE ON THE COVER OF FIFA 18?

The choice of FIFA 17 cover star came down to a fan vote (won by Marco Reus), but this time EA has gone straight ahead and picked one on its own - and who can blame them when it is Cristiano Ronaldo?

They are also running local votes for downloadable custom covers, with the likes of Tim Howard and Jozy Altidore in contention for the MLS edition.

WHAT NEW FEATURES ARE IN FIFA 18?

There are plenty of new features that have been revealed specific to certain game modes, which you can read about further down this page.

In terms of gameplay, EA Sports are billing FIFA 18 as "the biggest step" in franchise history due to the introduction of 'Real Player Motion Technology', a new animation system that "unlocks the next level of responsiveness and player personality".

EA has since released a 360° video of Ronaldo's movements - specifically, his famous heel chop - being recorded during a motion-capture session.

Related to that are new movement and finishing animations that are said to make striking and heading the ball more fluid. EA are also introducing "all-new" crossing controls to allow players to get greater accuracy on their balls into the box and shape crosses in different ways.

The development of something EA are calling 'Dramatic Moments' should add to this realism. As producer Sam Rivera explained to Kotaku : "Basically what we are doing is we are spending more time making sure that the football concepts and contexts that create variety in real life are also in FIFA and tuned in the same way."

What that means is that a number of different factors will come into play for every shot, pass or other action, such as pressure from a defender, the player having to stretch to reach the ball or the way his first touch sets up his next one.

While the feel of individual stars has always been a big focus for FIFA, this year they are also ramping up their efforts on a team level. The addition of 'Team Styles' is designed to bring sides with a recognisable style of play to life on the FIFA 18 pitches.

There will also be additions in terms of stadiums and matchday atmosphere, with EA using their Frostbite game engine to create a more cinematic experience built around the little details like sun position, on-pitch debris and pitch quality.

WILL ‘THE JOURNEY’ BE IN FIFA 18?

Yes, it will. After a successful debut, The Journey is back for another year and so is Alex Hunter in 'Hunter Returns'.

EA released the first trailer for the second edition of the game's newest mode on June 10 and it was a star-studded affair, featuring a number of players, coaches and pundits speculating as to Hunter's future.

We can expect to have to decide whether or not Hunter should agree to a transfer ahead of his sophomore season and there is also a glimpse of a meeting with Cristiano Ronaldo.

EA has previously confirmed that new characters and storylines will feature in The Journey on FIFA 18, but it always seemed probable Hunter would be back as the protagonist given the way the 17 story - spoiler alert - ended rather abruptly at the conclusion of his first season.

This one showed Hunter embroiled in a Real Madrid transfer controversy before being welcomed to PSG by Neymar, Atletico Madrid by Antoine Griezmann, Bayern Munich by Thomas Muller and the LA Galaxy by Gyasi Zardes.

Those scenes indicate that the story will offer gamers some choice as to which club Hunter joins.

There were also cameo appearances by Thierry Henry and basketball star James Harden and it looks as if Hunter's apparent love interest may be a U.S. women's national team player.

Add in sponsorship deals, injuries and agent disputes and it looks set to be an action-packed year for England's newest superstar.

WHAT’S NEW ABOUT ULTIMATE TEAM?

The biggest news as far as Ultimate Team goes will be of most interest to PS4 and PC players, and concerns the replacement of 'Legends' with cross-platform 'Icons'.

The availability of retired players of days gone by exclusively on Xbox One in FIFA 17 will be shared across all consoles this year and rebranded as a result. The first to be revealed, as mentioned, was Ronaldo Nazario, who will grace the cover of the special 'Icon Edition' of the game now available to pre-order.

The Icon Edition comes with a five-match loan card of the elder Ronaldo to get you started. You'll also receive the same five-match loan card of Cristiano Ronaldo, giving you one hell of a front two to kick things off with.

Since then, Diego Maradona, Thierry Henry, Pele and Ronaldinho are among those to have also been confirmed as Icons.

Beyond that, EA is introducing 'Squad Battles' to Ultimate Team this year. This is a single-player mode in which gamers can play against special squads built by celebrities, professional footballers, pro FIFA players and others in the FUT community for rewards.

The pack-opening animations will also be jazzed up, but by and large it's the same Ultimate Team you know and love. Why mess with a winning formula, after all?

WHAT ABOUT CAREER MODE?

If you still love playing offline, worry not: EA Sports appear to have paid a lot of attention to career mode this year to bring it up to par with The Journey.

The headline new addition is transfer negotiations, which - making use of the Frostbite engine - now have their own cutscenes in which talks and bargaining play out.

First, you sit down with your transfer target's manager and attempt to hammer out a deal to sign him.

"At that point, you need to negotiate with the club how much money you’re going to pay for that player," gameplay designer Sam Rivera told Dream Team.

"Right away if you say I’m going to give £5 million for a very expensive player, they will say that's far too low. You then need to go higher or say no deal.

"Depending on your offer you may get more chances. So, if the player is worth £50m and you offer £5m, they'll say you are wasting their time. They react in real time to your offers."

Once terms are agreed and you have permission to talk to the player, you will then meet with him and his agent to discuss a contract.

"At that point you have to negotiate other stuff," Rivera added. "First of all salary and then the player’s role in the team. The players will also be asking you for bonuses."

When a deal is done, more Frostbite magic will see the new signing presented to the media - and similar visuals can be enjoyed when you win a trophy or one of your players is named the Player of the Month.

EA has also introduced over 15 new skill games to add variety to training, and quick subs will allow you to make changes on the fly without having to pause the match.

WHAT NEW LEAGUES WILL BE IN FIFA 18?

Bad news for those hoping to play in the Chinese Super League on FIFA 18 - it won't be included in the game despite its influx of star names over the past couple of years and rumours to the contrary.

There has also been a new addition to the 'rest of the world' clubs, with Sparta Prague returning to FIFA for the first time since FIFA 11. The club's marketing director confirmed that the Czech Republic's most successful team would be back after successful negotiations with EA Sports.

As well as the new clubs included in FIFA 18, the Icelandic national team makes its return to the series for the first time since the 2014 FIFA World Cup game.

WHEN WILL THE FIFA 18 DEMO BE RELEASED?

The FIFA 18 demo was made available for download on September 12 and can be played on Xbox One, Playstation 4 and PC ahead of the full release on September 29.

Gamers can play 'kick-off' mode in the demo and have 12 teams to choose from - including Manchester United, Champions League winners Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain - as they sample the new features.

As well as being able to choose from 12 teams, demo players can check out four different stadiums - including the LA Galaxy's StubHub Center, which is a new venue this year.

The demo also gives a first hands-on glimpse at this year's new season of The Journey.

WILL FIFA 18 FEATURE VIRTUAL REALITY?

Anything you read on this front is purely speculation at the moment, with EA giving no indication VR will be a part of FIFA 18 despite the early success of the headsets as they hit the market and begin to influence gaming.

It's easy to imagine a VR future for FIFA - especially now a more cinematic mode like The Journey is a reality. There has not been much indication it is a priority, though, and it's hard to see the core of how the game is played changing given the boom in competitive gaming.

WHICH STADIUMS ARE IN FIFA 18?

As was the case in FIFA 17, every Premier League ground will feature. That means Brighton's Amex Stadium and Huddersfield's John Smith's Stadium will make their debuts (Newcastle United's St James' Park was already in the game).

In addition, the LA Galaxy's StubHub Center and Atletico Madrid's new Wanda Metropolitano have been added.

The biggest omission is Camp Nou, as Pro Evolution Soccer have the exclusive rights to Barcelona's famous home. Sadly for Tottenham fans, White Hart Lane has also said farewell as Spurs move to Wembley while their new ground is built.